Browse content similar to 02/12/2013. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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This is BBC World News Today with me, Zeinab Badawi. | :00:00. | :00:10. | |
Increasing pressure on the Ukrainian president to resign, as protesters | :00:11. | :00:13. | |
begin sealing off parts of the capital, Kiev. They have barricaded | :00:14. | :00:17. | |
Independence Square and government buildings in anger at a decision to | :00:18. | :00:20. | |
back away from the trade deal with the EU. | :00:21. | :00:26. | |
Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, is for the first time directly | :00:27. | :00:30. | |
accused of war crimes by the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner. | :00:31. | :00:36. | |
But will the evidence against him ever go to trial? | :00:37. | :00:40. | |
Also coming up: British Olympic hero Tom Daley says he is in a | :00:41. | :00:47. | |
relationship with another man. What impact will this have on his career? | :00:48. | :00:54. | |
I think people will make a big deal of this. Is it a big deal? I don't | :00:55. | :01:03. | |
think so. And we will hear from Ivorian | :01:04. | :01:06. | |
midfielder Yaya Tour, this year's winner of the BBC African footballer | :01:07. | :01:13. | |
of the year. Hello and welcome. A tense standoff | :01:14. | :01:23. | |
is underway over Ukraine's future in the capital, Kiev. Thousands of | :01:24. | :01:27. | |
demonstrators have gathered for fresh protests, while other | :01:28. | :01:30. | |
activists are barricaded inside city hall. The unrest was triggered at | :01:31. | :01:36. | |
Ukraine's 11th hour decision to back away from a deal which would ensure | :01:37. | :01:42. | |
closer ties with the European Union. This is the scene in the capital, | :01:43. | :01:51. | |
Kiev. Protesters are entrenched inside City Hall and have put up | :01:52. | :01:59. | |
barricades. Protesters now want President Viktor Yanukovich to | :02:00. | :02:03. | |
resign. People power on display in Kiev. | :02:04. | :02:09. | |
Protesters took to the streets to paralyse their government. They set | :02:10. | :02:12. | |
up roadblocks to stop officials getting to work. At government | :02:13. | :02:17. | |
headquarters, no door was left unguarded. It will be our victory if | :02:18. | :02:26. | |
they don't come inside. Protesters occupy Independence Square. They're | :02:27. | :02:30. | |
demanding closer links with Europe instead of Russia. Thousands spent | :02:31. | :02:36. | |
the night here. They spent all might building barricades using large | :02:37. | :02:41. | |
pieces of wood and metal. This is to stop police moving onto the square. | :02:42. | :02:48. | |
Yesterday, there are violent clashes between riot police and protesters. | :02:49. | :02:55. | |
More than 100 were injured. The opposition is demanding that the | :02:56. | :02:58. | |
president resign. But these demonstrators told me they are not | :02:59. | :03:02. | |
surprised. TRANSLATION: Whenever people take to the streets, our | :03:03. | :03:09. | |
president runs away. He is a coward. Not everyone in this country wants | :03:10. | :03:13. | |
closer links with the European Union. But these people believe that | :03:14. | :03:19. | |
the future of Ukraine lies to the west, and they blame their president | :03:20. | :03:27. | |
for holding them back. Our reporter joins us now live. I | :03:28. | :03:32. | |
hope you can hear me. People still out in force. Give us an account of | :03:33. | :03:39. | |
what is going on. That is correct. It is bitterly | :03:40. | :03:43. | |
cold, but despite that there are thousands of people here on | :03:44. | :03:49. | |
Independence Square. They have been listening to music and political | :03:50. | :03:56. | |
speeches. They are determined to keep in this square as the focal | :03:57. | :04:00. | |
point of their protest. Some people here will probably spend the night. | :04:01. | :04:06. | |
Last night, people lit fires to keep themselves warm. It is bitterly | :04:07. | :04:11. | |
cold, but this is the centre of the protest. There were attempts to | :04:12. | :04:17. | |
surround the government building today to make sure that no | :04:18. | :04:22. | |
government officials could get inside the building. The protesters | :04:23. | :04:36. | |
feel their demands should be met. The president seems to be taking a | :04:37. | :04:41. | |
relaxed view of this? He is going ahead with a visit abroad? | :04:42. | :04:46. | |
That is correct. Had speculation that perhaps Viktor Yanukovich would | :04:47. | :04:54. | |
cancel his trip to China, but he is due to leave tomorrow. That would | :04:55. | :05:01. | |
suggest that he is confident about his position here. He gave an | :05:02. | :05:10. | |
interview to a number of Ukrainian television channels earlier today | :05:11. | :05:13. | |
and said that everyone had the right to express their own opinion, as | :05:14. | :05:18. | |
long as that was done peacefully. He said the opposition, the authorities | :05:19. | :05:25. | |
and police all had to abide by the law of the state. He called on the | :05:26. | :05:29. | |
opposition to work with the authorities to identify people whom | :05:30. | :05:34. | |
he said had provoked Coble during the recent mass protests. | :05:35. | :05:39. | |
How far do you get the impression that these protests are being | :05:40. | :05:44. | |
managed and directed by the opposition? Or is this real people | :05:45. | :05:51. | |
power we are witnessing? There is a degree of management | :05:52. | :05:55. | |
year, but I think there is also deep disappointment amongst people who | :05:56. | :06:00. | |
are gathering on the square at the disillusionment when it became clear | :06:01. | :06:05. | |
that there are president was not going to signed this historic deal | :06:06. | :06:17. | |
with the European Union to move Ukraine politically closer to | :06:18. | :06:23. | |
Europe. Some people in the east of the country are upset, but many | :06:24. | :06:30. | |
people in Kiev and in the West are very angry. This country is deeply | :06:31. | :06:36. | |
divided and not everyone wants closer ties with the US. Many people | :06:37. | :06:47. | |
-- with the European Union. Many people in the east of the country | :06:48. | :06:51. | |
feel closer to Russia. They are worried about breaking important | :06:52. | :07:02. | |
economic ties with Moscow. Thank you. The atmosphere slightly | :07:03. | :07:10. | |
reminds you of a rock concert at the moment, seeming fairly peaceful. | :07:11. | :07:16. | |
Thailand's Prime Minister has rejected a demand from protesters | :07:17. | :07:19. | |
that she should resign and hand over power to an unelected people's | :07:20. | :07:23. | |
council. Yingluck Shinawatra says that would be unconstitutional. The | :07:24. | :07:32. | |
premier says she's still open to talks but on the streets there is an | :07:33. | :07:36. | |
uglier mood, with security forces using rubber bullets and tear gas | :07:37. | :07:47. | |
against demonstrators. Bangkok's battle grounds. Year in | :07:48. | :07:51. | |
the streets of the old Royal Quarter, two sides are slugging it | :07:52. | :07:56. | |
out in a conflict which keeps coming back to the city. On one side, a | :07:57. | :08:00. | |
government that cannot be beaten in elections. On the other, a movement | :08:01. | :08:05. | |
set on bringing it down through the power of protest. Every so often, | :08:06. | :08:11. | |
they think there is a breakthrough. They are trying to take the Prime | :08:12. | :08:17. | |
Minister's office. A symbolic privacy is not actually there. But | :08:18. | :08:24. | |
the gate as well fortified. Every surge is met by clouds of tear gas. | :08:25. | :08:38. | |
Undeterred, they began ringing up an assortment of improvised weapons, | :08:39. | :08:42. | |
hoping to score a hit or at least unnerve the watching police. This is | :08:43. | :09:00. | |
their final attempt to push back these lines. They're hoping they can | :09:01. | :09:06. | |
push their way through. So far they have not managed to push through | :09:07. | :09:12. | |
police lines. After nine days of this, you have two ask, what is the | :09:13. | :09:22. | |
point? The government will not resign. Was a big majority in | :09:23. | :09:26. | |
parliament, it doesn't have to. But such is the Prime Minister -- such | :09:27. | :09:35. | |
is the animosity towards the Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, and | :09:36. | :09:47. | |
her family, some people believe they have to take to the streets. Towards | :09:48. | :09:52. | |
the end of the day, they brought in a new weapon. Things really kicked | :09:53. | :10:07. | |
off. Rockets, home-made bombs, tear gas, lighting up the sky. The fight | :10:08. | :10:17. | |
is being led by hard-line student groups now. Perhaps this time, they | :10:18. | :10:24. | |
will breakthrough. And if they do, then what? | :10:25. | :10:42. | |
We are joined by a former American ambassador to Ukraine. Can street | :10:43. | :10:57. | |
power be effective in deciding what the political outcome is? Well, yes | :10:58. | :11:05. | |
it can, and it can in Ukraine. Viktor Yanukovich has seen this | :11:06. | :11:09. | |
before. In 2004, the Orange Revolution basically call the | :11:10. | :11:18. | |
government to schedule a new election after a fraudulent | :11:19. | :11:26. | |
election. Argues suggesting that when we look at this debate of | :11:27. | :11:33. | |
Moscow against the European Union and their offerings for Ukraine, | :11:34. | :11:41. | |
this is a street battle? Hopefully this is not a fight and it stays | :11:42. | :11:46. | |
peaceful between Viktor Yanukovich, the opposition and the protest is on | :11:47. | :11:51. | |
the street. They are there for two reasons. One is because there is | :11:52. | :11:55. | |
this desire on a significant part of Ukrainian population to align | :11:56. | :12:00. | |
themselves closer to Europe. They were unhappy when Viktor Yanukovich | :12:01. | :12:07. | |
said he would suspend preparations for signing a deal with the EU. | :12:08. | :12:15. | |
Second play, more blood was spilled this weekend and people are not | :12:16. | :12:24. | |
happy. The Ukrainians took pride in 2004 that they could do this | :12:25. | :12:27. | |
peacefully. People have come out in a backlash against that use of force | :12:28. | :12:36. | |
on Saturday morning. In Thailand, the military is taking a back-seat. | :12:37. | :12:44. | |
What is your assessment of any violence potential in Ukraine? The | :12:45. | :12:51. | |
military in Ukraine is largely conscript. The action was taken by | :12:52. | :13:03. | |
the ministry of interior specialist units provoked a special reaction. | :13:04. | :13:11. | |
At the police has been largely absence today. It might be an | :13:12. | :13:16. | |
acknowledgement from Viktor Yanukovich that the use of force | :13:17. | :13:22. | |
will be counter-productive. His options are becoming more narrow. If | :13:23. | :13:29. | |
he cannot risk a harsh crackdown, as you are suggesting, he also cannot | :13:30. | :13:33. | |
be seen to be caving in to the opposition, can he? We will have to | :13:34. | :13:39. | |
see. He has had a phone conversation earlier today with the president of | :13:40. | :13:45. | |
the European Commission were he has asked about engaging in negotiation. | :13:46. | :13:57. | |
The questionnaires, can he get into some sort of dialogue that begins to | :13:58. | :14:03. | |
answer some of the concerns you see from the protesters on the street. | :14:04. | :14:07. | |
How far can the opposition capitalise on this? The opposition | :14:08. | :14:17. | |
is trying to take advantage of the people on the street who just want | :14:18. | :14:24. | |
Europe. They will have to work together for a coherent message. The | :14:25. | :14:30. | |
question is, can they get in to some sort of dialogue with the President. | :14:31. | :14:37. | |
That is his best way out. At least 100,000 dead in the Syrian | :14:38. | :14:40. | |
conflict, many of them innocent civilians, and many others injured, | :14:41. | :14:44. | |
raped and abused. There can be no impunity for such crimes, says the | :14:45. | :14:47. | |
international community. Now the United Nations Human Rights | :14:48. | :14:49. | |
Commissioner Navi Pillay has for the first time directly implicated | :14:50. | :14:52. | |
President Bashar al-Assad in alleged war crimes and crimes against | :14:53. | :14:54. | |
humanity in Syria. She said investigations by her staff had | :14:55. | :14:57. | |
uncovered evidence leading all the way to the top of the Syrian | :14:58. | :15:03. | |
government. They have produced massive evidence. | :15:04. | :15:12. | |
They find the facts. Based on that, in their report, they have outlined | :15:13. | :15:15. | |
their view that the facts point to the commission of very serious war | :15:16. | :15:22. | |
crimes, crimes against humanity. They point to the fact that the | :15:23. | :15:27. | |
evidence indicates responsibility at the highest level of government, | :15:28. | :15:34. | |
including the head of state. That was Navi Pillay. We | :15:35. | :15:36. |